I find the processing of the attached image rather difficult, perhaps due to different White Balances that apply to the different parts of the image, as well as the different categories of landscapes that the image seems to embrace.

I see the lower part of the image as a typical Pastoral, or typical farmland scene from Nepal, but the upper half I see as being Sublime. Those snowy peaks would be in the region of 6500 to 7,000 metres.

The middle of the image could perhaps be considered as a sort of negative space.

I'm not entirely pleased with the image. There's something I can't quite get right, so I've thrown it open to you all for suggestions and criticisms.

I'm with Eric. #3 reminds me of Bierstadt's "Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains." I live among the Rockies, so I know what the mountains feel like as well as what they look like. All three of these give me the feel of the mountains, but #3 does that most strongly.

Before I clicked on the thumbnail, I was about to suggest adding some naked ladies, but I think the whole scene is too sublime for that (sorry, Rob).I would be tempted to try increasing the contrast just a wee bit in the "sublime" sector and lightening it up a bit, so it pushes close to paper white in places.

The lower two sections are just fine as they are, IMHO.

Eric, Ray provides his own naked ladies, even if they usually carry a little umbrella in self-defence. I'd like to carry a little 9mm at all times, but since I'm never going to be a naked lady, not even a partially naked lady, I wouldn't get away with the self-defence plea. I think that's a glaring example of sexual discrimination. Hell, I couldn't even locate a little 9mm! It's just not fair, as our politicians love to keep telling us.

Thanks guys for the feedback. This is the sort of image which makes me feel my photoshop processing skills are lacking.

I notice in Version 2 with the overly dramatic sky, the transition from the base of the clouds to the bare mountain is not as smooth as it should be. There's a distinct horizontal shadow on the left of the image, which looks a bit odd. I guess I'll have to practise more.

In general, I often find it difficult, when adjusting local contrast or making feathered selections to change the tonality of specific parts of a landscape, to avoid all hints of a halo and/or darkened edge along the transition line from a bright area to a dark area.

I guess I need to take a tutorial on the best method of avoiding such problems.

This is a fantastic shot w/wo naked ladies I would wonder what this might look like with a nice contrasty B/W conversion, FWIW.You might lose some of the pastoral quality, but...I'm just thinkin'

Well, thank you for your praise. I'm quite unused to it. You are very perceptive.

I did think briefly of trying a B&W version as an easy way out of the processing difficulties. However, the upper part of the image is already pretty much B&W, and I really like the lush greenery of the lower, sunlit, pastoral part.

I also like #3 the best, it looks believable. It must have been taken when approaching Ghandrung from Tadapani, above the large old landslides? I'll be going there again in late October, only debating if I take D800E with sharpest primes and a tripod (and hire a personal porter...) or if I go lightweight with Fujifilm X-E1 and do extensive stitching...

I also like #3 the best, it looks believable. It must have been taken when approaching Ghandrung from Tadapani, above the large old landslides? I'll be going there again in late October, only debating if I take D800E with sharpest primes and a tripod (and hire a personal porter...) or if I go lightweight with Fujifilm X-E1 and do extensive stitching...

Not quite. It was taken on the route from Ghandruk (or Ghandrung) to Chomrong, on my way to the ABC camp. A bit of detective work, looking at the images taken immediately before, reveals the shot would have been taken in the vicinity of Komrong, probably at the top of the rise above the luxurious Sun Rise Lodge and Restaurant, where that little red figure is noticeable in attached image.

The mountain, visible through the clouds, might be Annapurna South at 7219 metres, but I'm not certain. I guess I'm getting old.

Regarding the option of the D800E with a sharp prime attached, I would not recommend it. You'll miss too many opportunities. The Nikkor 24-70/2.8 would be a better option. Pity it doesn't have VR.

Hiring a porter is very sensible if you can afford the extra $15 a day. When I go trekking in Nepal, I carry nothing but my cameras, not even a water bottle.

Not quite. It was taken on the route from Ghandruk (or Ghandrung) to Chomrong, on my way to the ABC camp. A bit of detective work, looking at the images taken immediately before, reveals the shot would have been taken in the vicinity of Komrong, probably at the top of the rise above the luxurious Sun Rise Lodge and Restaurant, where that little red figure is noticeable in attached image.

The mountain, visible through the clouds, might be Annapurna South at 7219 metres, but I'm not certain. I guess I'm getting old.

Komrong is along the same line as my suggestion, I judged the height differential wrong. The peak is Annapurna III.

I do need some luck, as my right hip is getting worse from osteoarthritis, left one was fixed already in last May. We'll see, slow walking, plenty of photographing...

Komrong is along the same line as my suggestion, I judged the height differential wrong. The peak is Annapurna III.

Hi Petrus,It's roughly in the same area, but according to my map, if you were heading towards Ghandruk from Tadapani, you would need to take a sharp turn to the left about halfway along the track, and head north to get to Komrong which is about the same distance from Tadapani as Ghandruk is from Tadapani.

Are you sure the peak is Annapurna III? That peak looks on the map to be more than twice the distance from Komrong as Annapurna South, as the crow flies, or as the light travels. The focal length used for the shot was 82mm on the D7000, which makes it 123mm in full-frame terms. Annapurna South seems the more likely candidate.

Using a ruler on my map which has a scale of 1:50,000, I measure the distance between Komrong and Annapurna South as 250mm, and the distance to Annapurna III as 550mm.

That translates to a distance of 12.5 km for Annapurna South as opposed to 27.5 km for Annapurna III (those crows sure have an easy time ).

The question is, would an average quality zoom, at a focal length which is far from being its sharpest, be able to deliver the detail as seen in attached 100% crop, from a distance of 27.5Km?

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I do need some luck, as my right hip is getting worse from osteoarthritis, left one was fixed already in last May. We'll see, slow walking, plenty of photographing...

If you have oseoarthritis, the exercise in Nepal should be very beneficial as long as you walk within your fitness level. If I were you, I'd hire both a guide and a porter. If you get into trouble, or find the going a bit arduous, your guide can offer a steadying hand, which would be more difficult for the porter to do because of his heavy load.

There were times during my trek to the ABC in April 2011, whilst climbing about a thousand irregular stone steps for the second time in a day, I'd hand over my heaviest camera to my Guide to carry, who would walk behind me or at my side, and would quickly hand me my camera on request whenever I felt the need to use that heavy 14-24/2.8 lens with D700.

Take care, and prepare yourself for the trip by walking up a few hills in Finland, or wherever you are, before you go to Nepal.

Are you sure the peak is Annapurna III? That peak looks on the map to be more than twice the distance from Komrong as Annapurna South, as the crow flies, or as the light travels. The focal length used for the shot was 82mm on the D7000, which makes it 123mm in full-frame terms. Annapurna South seems the more likely candidate.

I do sometimes find a slight pedantic streak in me... Anyway, I took the liberty of making some markings on your great photograph. Yellow line is the line of view, with red and green I marked the prominent villages on both the picture and a map I happened to have on my computer. I also marked Annapurna South with a blue circle around it.

We will be going there with a small group and we are not in a hurry. I was planning to get, besides the normal guide and porters, also a personal bearer to carry my photo gear.

I do sometimes find a slight pedantic streak in me... Anyway, I took the liberty of making some markings on your great photograph. Yellow line is the line of view, with red and green I marked the prominent villages on both the picture and a map I happened to have on my computer. I also marked Annapurna South with a blue circle around it.

We will be going there with a small group and we are not in a hurry. I was planning to get, besides the normal guide and porters, also a personal bearer to carry my photo gear.

You might be right, Petrus. If I trek that way again, I'll make a note to check this out.

On that particular trip my full-frame camera was the rather low resolution D700, and my higher resolving D7000 suffered from autofocussing problems due to the cold weather. I might have to repeat that trek if for no other reason than to take better photos.